In some platform-based system solutions, e.g. similar to OpenScape Business X variants, there is often the problem of deploying separate patches, because the system solution might be delivered as a total image. The problem becomes more complex when trying to synchronize mobile or desktop applications or program versions with server side one. Small and Medium Enterprise System Solutions rely most of the times on hardware components somewhere in customer's company premises hidden from firewalls and other security restricted accesses. In these systems updates can often be installed manually or via specific connected servers. The most common case is that the aforementioned updates are given as a whole official release and it is rare to find occasions that customer install patches. Even patch delivery is a very difficult process which requires monitoring and history logging. Hence, safely upgrading a certain component isolated from other system software components is done via the total image.
Specific online distribution platforms such as mobile application stores like AppStore or Google's Play Store have developed a mechanism for upgrading applications/software via their own server which helped them monitoring what and how often something is upgraded. In parallel, these aforementioned application stores give the consumer the opportunity to upgrade automatically their apps/software without noticing it. This has become a common practice and users are familiar with the underlying process of these application stores. Most of the time, these updates must come together with server-side update. When this update is on a cloud server, this makes it a bit easier since the developer can update customers' applications/software almost at the same time instance as the server, or sometimes making the server compatible to old and new versions of the application/software. However, this requires two actions, one from the clients' side (or the mobile application side) and one from server side. This becomes more difficult when the service is not offered via a cloud server but must install manually on the hardware.
For example, in platform-based solutions like OpenScape Business these platforms can consist of different components which, for example, offer a telephony functionality on the one hand, and on the other hand a responsible software for the communication between system and clients like mobile apps (i.e. the Application Programming Interface, “API”). Whenever there is a new software for the client to be released, the developer has to take care of both updates, one for the client and the other for the server side. Hence, most of the time the developer has to wait until the server is updated and then could release the update for the client (e.g. an application to be updated on a customer's mobile phone).